


Fairy Garden

by Subspace02



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Character Death, F/F, F/M, Fae & Fairies, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22726951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Subspace02/pseuds/Subspace02
Summary: You head right for the stairs as soon as mom mentions the bedrooms are up there, excited to see them. Or at least your own. You really hope you have your own.--Hey so this is basically inspired by this fairy book my older sister had when she was like five, and I really wanted to have. Parts from this are going to be taken from the book/inspired from it.
Relationships: Dad Egbert/Rose's Mom | Beta Roxy Lalonde, Dad/Mom, Dave's Bro | Beta Dirk Strider/Rose's Mom | Beta Roxy Lalonde, John Egbert/Dave Strider, Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam
Comments: 8
Kudos: 36





	1. Home of Fairies

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is set in the 1920s in Sussex, England. Dave and Rose are probs about 7-8, havent decided which yet, and they're obviously twins. The john/dave can be read platonic and tbh it's just barely referenced at. John is basically the fairy that dave encounters a lot so I figured I'd put the tag in! I'm gonna try posting a chapter every week!

You didn't want to be moving here. You're too far from home and too far from all of your friends, so what is there to be excited about? Nothing. Your father keeps telling you there is a lot to be excited about, but you doubt it. He's hardly ever right, so it isn't possible that he will be now.

You're glad that at least you aren't the only one that is upset about this turn of events. Rose is just as miffed and she has made it clear to everyone how unhappy she is about the move. She hid away in your shared room as soon as father told you both.

You cried into father's chest, but you wouldn't admit that to anyone and you know he wouldn't either. He'd be damned if anyone found out he had a sissy boy, as he likes to call you. Sissy boy. What does that even mean? It can't be any good since he always says it with a scowl on his face. He looks older when he makes that face, but you won't tell him that. Mother said it once and only once, but never did again after what happened.

Mother. You miss her. 

You and Rose are going to live with her. It's who you're moving in with, and you'd be excited if she didn't live so far from your friends. She lives in some place called England, and it's very far away because father said so. You don't think he's telling the truth, but he might be since it feels like forever since you've left home. You rode on a big boat over the ocean but it was impossible to tell how many days had passed.

You're just glad you aren't on the boat anymore. Father was gone during a lot of that part of the trip. You don't know where he had gone, but he was always really mad when he came back to the room late in the evening. Rose said he was mad because he lost a lot of money, but you know he doesn't have money to lose. You told her she was stupid and she threw her shoe at you.

It was the first time you had smiled since boarding the stupid boat.

Now you just feel sick to your stomach. You're sitting in the back of a car your father got. You don't know if it's his, but you do know you don't like it. It bounces on the dirt road, pushing you into your sister repeatedly as well as jostling her into you.

"If you bump into me again, dave, I'm going to hit you," her voice is like ice that's about to crack, both a warning and a promise for what's to come if you don't listen. 

"It's not my fault. We're on a dirt road, what do you expect?"

"I expect you to stay on your own side-"

"If I hear another damn word out of either of your mouths I'm gonna smack you both," his voice is even colder and it makes both yours and Rose's lips press tightly together. She doesn't want to make him angry and you don't want him to stop the car to hit you. If he stopped now it would only make the trip longer, and your stomach might not make it.

Your hands curl into fists in your lap, squeezing the fabric of your pants as you will away the increasing urge to empty your stomach. You'd really get your ass beat if you did that.

To distract yourself, you turn to look out the window. You've long since passed through the small village and you're thankful for that. People had stared in awe at the car as it passed and that served to make you feel out of place. Now it's only trees. There are tons of them, more than you have ever seen in one place before, and you're pretty sure there are at least a hundred different types.

Their leaves cast a shadow over the path, blocking the sun from burning your eyes any more. It also gives the area an eerie glow, as if its hiding more than what a typical forest might. You've read about forests before and the animals you can find inside, but you've never been in one. Those books might have been lying. You don't see any animals. No bunnies, no deer, no squirrels. Then again you don't know what any of those look like so it's not like you would know if you saw any of them.

Suddenly, those trees become a little more sparse before the area opens up into a small meadow. You turn to look out the front, Rose's head right beside your own, and see the biggest house you've ever seen before. It's huge! You hear Rose gasp beside you and a quick glance to your father shows his face has closed into a scowl. It's a typical look, but you don't understand why he would be upset with how it looks.

The car stops in the circle drive and the moment the wheels stop you're climbing out. It feels wonderful to be on the ground again, even if it's dirt rather than pavement. You hear two more doors open and close before Rose comes to stand beside you, admiring the house just like you are.

Okay, this place can't be too bad. It's certainly better than the little home you shared with your father and sister. Will you have to share a room with Rose here too? It would be foolish. This house looks as if it could fit a whole city!

You're knocked away from your thoughts, literally, as your suitcase is roughly forced into your empty hands. Right. He won't carry yours, but apparently he will carry Rose's. Your father is the first to start up the stone pathway to the porch, Rose following not a minute later which leaves you trailing behind. 

Father bangs a fist on the door and a part of you is angry at him for that. He shouldn't lay his hands on any part of this house, let alone do it like that. Everything he touches turns to shit and you don't want to see that happen to this house. 

You aren't sure where these thoughts are coming from. You've never felt this way about anything, let alone a house. Why a house of all things? 

Those thoughts weren't your own, you're sure of it.

The door creaks open and a youthful face you wouldn't dare forget greets you. Your mom is gorgeous. She always has been and it baffled you that she got together with your father.

She's tall and thin, her hips curved and her face beautiful. Her hair is shorter, framing her face gorgeously. It's the same pale blonde as your sister's and you wish yours looked like that too. Rose got more of her traits though. While she isn't tall, she has the same hairstyle and color and you know she will grow to be just as pretty as your mother is.

You got stuck looking like father. Your hair is so blonde it might as well be white and your skin isn't fair. Instead it's matted with freckles and scarred from being cut too many times by knives. You've never been good with those.

"Babies! You're here in one piece! I was afraid you wouldn't make it!" Mom's voice is like a choir, melodic and inviting just as her arms are when she opens them and beckons you closer. In an instant you drop your things and rush forward, throwing your arms around her in a hug. Rose joins not a minute later, her arm coming up over your shoulders while the other wraps around mom. Father doesn't join the hug and some part of you deep down is thankful for that. You wouldn't want his touch to infect her.

This thought you know is yours because you've felt the same way about him touching Rose. He shouldn't touch either of them.

Rose pulls from the hug and you wish she didn't because mom pulls away afterwards even though you aren't ready to let go yet. How long has it been since you've seen her? A year? It must have taken a year to get here so surely more than that. Doesn't matter. She's here now and that's all you need.

"I'm heading out. Kids are your problem now, Rox." Your father doesn't give either of you a chance to respond before he drops Rose's suitcase next to yours and starts back towards the car. No hug. No goodbye.

_ Good riddance, asshole _ .

You wouldn't ever say that out loud, but you don't have to.

"Come on babies let's get you inside. We can put your things up in your rooms before we have lunch." Mom is quick to grab our attention again, her smile strained now. You know she has a hard time being happy around that man, but now that he's leaving she should be even happier. You don't understand.

You pick your bag back up and grab Rose's before she can. You don't look at her. You dont wanna see the surprise on her face because you both know that you would ever normally do this. You wont make mom do it and you know Rose will complain about doing it, so it might as well be you. 

Mom ushers you both into the house and it's even more pretty on the inside. You step right into the living room and it's probably as big as your whole apartment back in Texas. The place really is huge. The furniture isn't new, it can't be, but it's in condition. Your mom must have fixed them up. She's into that kind of stuff.

You head right for the stairs as soon as mom mentions the bedrooms are up there, excited to see them. Or at least your own. You really hope you have your own.

The stairs creak with each heavy step you take but you hardly worry about it. You doubt they'll break on you and if they do not even that will dampen your excitement. The hallway is a bit narrow, but there are four rooms. You go to the first on the right and it's practically empty save for a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a nightstand.

"This one is my room," Rose declares this the moment she steps through the threshold, coming to stand beside you. You could easily argue and say it's yours, but why does it matter? You'll have your own room so she can have this one.

"Fine, but only because I don't wanna carry your dumb suitcase any further. You must have packed bricks in here." You drop her bag on the bed right before sticking your tongue out at her. She narrows her eyes and you take that as your cue to leave, which you hurriedly do. She might throw whatever is in her bag and you dont wanna find out what is actually in there.

Mom follows you down the hall to the next door and it's almost identical to Rose's, but this room has a window that shows what's behind the house. Plus, the window is bigger and there's a little seat in front of it, so you think it's way better than the other room.

"Do you like it?" There's hesitation in mom's voice, but only a hint of it.

"It's nice. I've never had my own room." She knows that, but you tell her anyway. You drop your bag on the bed before turning to face her, offering a reassuring smile.

Now that you're here, you're feeling better about the move. This place isn't the city, but you think you like that. It's quiet. You hope you'll make some new friends. There hadn't been any in the village that you saw, so you're a little worried. But only a little. The forest around the house should give you a lot to distract yourself with if you don't meet anyone.

"You said lunch, right? Can we eat now?" You haven't eaten today, neither has Rose, and food sounds amazing right now. Better than anything if you're honest. Well, almost as good as you having your own room, which you're still really happy about. 

"Yes of course. I was going to make jam but I thought I'd wait. I didn't know if you or Rosie would want to help so I wanted to ask. I made sandwiches instead though!" Her smile is real this time and almost blinding. It's the kind of smile that should always be on her face.

You follow her from the room and back down the steps, peeking into Rose's room as you pass by. She's already unpacking her clothes into the wardrobe. She'll come down when she is done.

In the meantime you run down the steps and into the kitchen, pulling yourself up into one of the stools at the counter. The kitchen is big and it has a ton of cabinets. It's nicer than you thought a kitchen could be. There's a cake on the counter in front of you, a glass cover over it to keep it fresh. There's a slice missing and you hope to make it two slices soon. You haven't had cake in a long time.

Mom sets a plate down in front of you with little ham and cheese sandwiches, each one cut into triangles. Father never did anything like this for you guys.

Lunch goes by in a breeze, two sandwiches in your stomach as well as a glass of milk. Rose came down midway through and she ate even more than you did but still finished first.

You're on your way to the village now, your hand clasped tightly in your mother's while Rose holds her other one. The dirt road is a lot nicer when you aren't in the car. You don't have to struggle to not puke and you can hear birds now! That also means you can hear every other noise from the bushes and trees around you. More than once you've nearly jumped out of your skin when a bush rustled.

Rose said you were a scaredy cat but you saw her jump as well, so she has to be one too.

You figured you would be tired by the time you made it to the village, but you were far from it. Excitement wells in your chest at the prospect of getting to explore a whole new village. There are new people, it's not as noisy as the city, and it's so different from what you are used to. 

The village looks old. Like, really old. Some of the people walking around do too, but you can't exactly say that. You could, but you'd get in trouble so you won't.

The buildings are smaller than mom's house- and it's your house now too but it's still a little strange admitting that- but they hold the same kind of quaint, homey feeling that you got when you first arrived. You like it a lot actually. It makes you feel welcomed, more than you did when you came in the car. Maybe they didn't like cars? You've only seen a few, but they're parked in driveways in the couple houses that you've seen. 

Each home has a large garden, brimming with life from the multitude of flowers to the bees to even the butterflies. You think mom's garden is better, but these are all nice too. One has a small fountain, stone children with wings standing in the center caught in mid action. It was stone, but it held a sense of fluidity to it as if they had actually been playing.

You hadn't realized you stopped to look at it until mom's hand is gently tugging yours, urging you along with her. It's hard to tear your eyes from the structure, but you do and quickly follow beside her again.

The first store you walk into is a bakery. It has to be. There are far too many amazing smells for the place to be anything else. Plus, the breads and cake you see behind the counter give away what the place is.

The man behind the counter is tall, imposing. He isn't scary, not like father, but he was the type of man you would see and be intimidated by. He had a pipe sticking from his mouth and he had large hands, but behind his imposing figure he looked nice. His smile was wide and his eyes had a glint of mischief, like he was younger than he was. He couldn't be much older than mom. While his face did have creased wrinkles, only a few, he still looked young.

"Good afternoon, Miss Lalonde. I'm glad to see you still in one piece, and with the kids." His eyes met yours when he mentioned you and your sister, but they flickered back up to meet your mom's gaze. You think so at least.

"Hello, James, I told you not to fret. He was there for a minute before leaving and I got my beautiful babies with me now." She returned his smile, but hers was bright and full of excitement. Was she just as excited as you?

"Speaking of my babies, this here is Dave," her hand rests on your head, ruffling your hair before she continues, "and this is Rose. Kids this is Mr. Egbert, the baker." The baker. You knew that much but now you can put a name to his face. You doubt you'll forget his name considering how much you plan on being here.

"It's nice to meet you, sir." Rose is so plain. She doesn't even ask any questions.

"Hi, what sort of things do you make? Can I try the cake?" You waste no time asking the important questions. Even after just having lunch, the smell from all the food in here has brought your appetite back with a vengeance.

"Sweetie, you just ate-" Mom has no time to tell you no, before the man, Mr. Egbert, is turning to cut from the cake sitting on the counter next to him.

"The boy has his priorities straight. Let him have a little fun." You expect him to cut only one slice, but he cuts three for you all. You get the first plate and bound over to one of the little tables, climbing up onto a chair to sit. Rose joins you not even a minute later and mom comes after a moment as well.

This is the greatest thing you've ever tasted. You don't even know what flavour it is, but you hardly care. It practically melts in your mouth before you shovel more in, sitting a moment to savor it. You don't even care if you look foolish, and you know you do because you can hear rose laughing at you. She can laugh all she wants so long as you have this cake.

"You can take the rest home with you. Have some later and leave some out." He's already wrapping the rest of the cake up and you could cry from happiness. Maybe you can convince mom to let you have another slice before bed.

"Leave some out? Why in the world would we do that? It'd be a waste." You hadn't even caught onto his words until Rose pointed it out, bringing your attention from the cake to Mr. Egbert again.

"You haven't told them, Roxanne? You were so excited to tell them." that does nothing to quell your curiosity, instead bringing more questions into your head. Tell you what? Who would you leave the cake out for?

"I was going to wait until tomorrow since it was already so late, but I guess I have no choice now." She sighs dramatically, but smiles as she turns to look at you and Rose again.

"There are fairies that live around the village and the forest. It's hard to see them, but they are there. Everyone here leaves food and water out at night for them and sometimes they do nice things."

"What sort of nice things?" You want to know what they could do. Make someone happy? Give them toys?

"They can heal the sick, or bring life back into a garden. They can do a lot," Mr. Egbert speaks this time as he comes to join you all at the table.

"That's ridiculous. Fairies aren't real and they can't do that stuff. Even if they were real they're far too small to do something like that." Rose frowns, offended by the fact that they thought she would believe such things.

"Can I see one? Oh what do they look like?" Would it be hard to see one? Oh! You could capture one! It could sit in your room and you could talk with it! You'd be best friends.

"It's nearly impossible to spot one. They're far too quick and they have a magic called glamour. It hides them from our eyes. You can only see one if they let you or you're graced with the glamour." You didn't know that was a thing, but Mr. Egbert seems to know a lot about it.

"Do I have glamour?"

"Have you seen any around?"

That makes you think. No, you haven't seen any. Would you be able to see any? If they live in the forest, does that mean they like nature? Could there be some in the garden? That might explain why all the flowers here are so pretty. 

"No, but I want to. They sound so cool." 

"They aren't  _ real _ , Dave. They can't be real." Rose is scowling at you now, so you scowl right back. Who was she to be telling you what was and wasn't real?

"Yes they are! They're real!" You have proof! Mom and Mr. Egbert and everyone else in the village knows they're real!

"You've never seen one and no one else has. They're " _ so hard to spot _ " because they don't exist."

"Rose, that's enough. If you don't believe in them that's fine, but don't be yelling at your brother because of it." Mom is frowning now and you don't like that. Stupid Rose, making her upset.

"You should be careful saying you don't believe in them. While they can do good, they can also do bad." Mr. Egbert looks solemn now, like he's remembering something. He shouldn't be frowning like that. He looks better with a smile.

"I'm sorry, James. We should.. we should probably get going. It's getting late and I just wanted them to meet you. Stop by tomorrow okay?" Mom smiles, but it's strained like when she spoke to dad. You don't like that smile! You don't! She should be smiling without worrying about anything!

You shovel the last piece of cake into your mouth, patting the man's hand while muttering "thanks" around the mouthful. You hop down from the chair and watch as mom takes the rest of the cake from Mr. Egbert. Maybe you won't have any more tonight. Your stomach kind of hurts now. 

"Thank you again for the cake by the way. I'm sure everyone will enjoy it." She didn't say just you guys. She said everyone. You know she's referring to the fairies and that brings a minuscule smile back to your face. You might be able to set some out for the fairies still.

"Of course. I'll be by tomorrow afternoon to help in the garden. We can make jam tomorrow if the berries are ready."

You leave after that, your hand in mom's while her other holds the cake. Rose walks on the other side of her with her arms crossed, a frown still plastered on her face. 

By the time you make it back to the house, the sun has begun to set and you're tired. Really tired, but not too tired to set the things out.

Rose storms up to her room, but you're far too excited to care right now. She has no right to be upset since she made everyone else sad. You, mom, Mr. Egbert, and probably the fairies too if what he said was true. Even if you are mad you hope they don't make anything bad happen to her.

Mom takes out tiny plates, the tiniest plates you've ever seen before!

"Mrs. Harrison and her husband make pottery and plates. They make fairy sets too. Sometimes the fairies take them so I have to buy more. I'm almost out, actually." She smiles and helps you cut small pieces from the cake, setting them onto the plates until each has a slice. She gets a bowl next, smaller than what you would use for soup, but bigger than the fairy plates. She fills it with warm water before handing it to you. Together, you carry the plates and bowl out to the back door and into the garden, setting the stuff out on the little stone path.

You look around, but it's too dark now to spot anything. That's alright. You just hope they enjoy it all.

You and mom hurry inside and up to your room, where she picks out your pajamas and helps you change even though you don't need it anymore. You're a big boy. You still appreciate it.

"Do you think they will come? How will they know we set the stuff out for them?"

"They always come. I'm not sure how they know, but they just do. Here, I'll open the window and you can try listening for them. Don't stay up too late though." She tucks you into bed and it's so comfy. Comfier than your old bed. She opens the window next, letting the cool breeze into your room.

"Goodnight, dear. Sleep well and come get me if you need anything." Her lips are soft when they press against your forehead, bringing a smile to your lips once more.

"Goodnight mom." You turn onto your side, watching as she lifts the candle from your nightstand and leaves the room, the door clicking shut behind her. You're left in the darkness of your room, the moon's glow dimly lighting the area by your window.

When you're teetering on the edge of sleep, you hear it. You hear voices, albeit very faintly. They're singing and cheering, the sounds happy and full of excitement like you had been earlier that day.

You fall asleep to it, dreaming of tiny people with wings eating the food from the plates and bathing in the warm water. They're happy, exactly what you had hoped for.


	2. Sightings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You’re broken from your thoughts when something hits the top of your head. You pause, looking up at the canopy of trees just above you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really late! I was planning to get these chapters done at least once a week and that didn't happen at all, so I'm super sorry. The only excuses I have is that my computer has been broken, and school was literally killing me haha. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter! I went back and fixed up some mistakes in this first chapter, but not much changed.

The morning passed by very slowly- something you weren't used to in the least. Mornings with father happened so fast. You were up and dressed in minutes, ate breakfast if there was anything, and out the door not long after. Here, you woke to the sun casting a glare over your face and right into your eyes when they opened. Rolling over hid your face from the sun, but falling asleep was out of reach now. You were already awake.

You were rolling out of bed after giving yourself time to rub the sleep from your eyes, stretching out sore muscles. Your bags were still packed, clothes tucked away inside. Dressing for the day could wait, couldn't it? Shuffling from your room, you started down the hall, down the stairs, and to the quiet kitchen. Was no one awake yet? Rose's door had been closed when you passed by, but she had a habit of closing doors after leaving the room. Mother's was closed too, but you don't remember what she preferred. It has been a long time since you’ve been with mom.

The sudden sound of falling water filtered in through the open window, confusing you. It couldn't possibly be raining. The sun had woken you up and it was still filtering in through the window now. No water came in either. Placing your hands on the counter, you lift yourself up enough to peek out the window. Mom is out there, water can in hand as she feeds the flowers in the garden. Oh. No rain, just watering. Seeing the garden reminded you of the treats you set out for them the night before, and that was enough to push away the rest of the sleep in you. Excitement had taken over easily. You drop down to the floor again and rush to the door, pulling it open enough to slip out and follow the stone path into the garden. You're barefoot, so the stone burns your feet a little but it does nothing to quell your excitement or deter you from your mission.

You come across the bowl and the few plates. There are less than you set out, making you wonder if they had taken some of them. Dipping a finger into the bowl, you find it has long since gone cold. Had they used it last night?

"Good morning, dear. Did you just wake up?" Mom's voice filters over once she sees you crouched over on the path.

"I did. The fairies came last night. All the cake is gone and so are some of the plates!" You pick up what was left and bring it over to her, showing her as if proving your statement.

"Yes it looks like they did. Bring those in and get dressed, alright? I'll make you and Rose some breakfast."

Nodding, you turn around and head back inside, setting the bowl and plates on the counter. They probably need to be cleaned.  You rush back upstairs and into your room again, grabbing your suitcase so you can place it onto the bed. Unzipping it, you shuffling through until you find trousers and one of your button ups. It takes a minute to change, the buttons on your shirt giving you trouble. More than once you pair a button with the wrong hole and have to start over. Finally you get your shirt tucked in and loafers on your feet. You had hesitated with the shoes, but put them on when you realized you'd need them if you wanted to go outside again.

By the time you're dressed, you can hear your mom's and sister's voices down in the kitchen. Damn her for making it down there before you. You rush down the stairs, claiming the stool at the counter next to Rose, who has already gotten dressed in one of her dresses.

"Trouble with your shirt again?" Rose turns a knowing smile at you, so you scowl and shove at her shoulder.

"Actually I didn't. Just took my time." She is still smiling and you're tempted to shove at her again, but mom's putting plates down in front of you guys.

Buttered bread and scrambled eggs. You haven't eaten this since before she had left father, but that just makes it all the more special. You practically stuff your face just like you had done with the cake the day before and ignore the disgruntled looks Rose sends your way. If she has a problem with the way you eat she can just keep it to herself, and thankfully she does. 

You’re pretty sure you could have kept eating, but the promise of a new day and tons of forest to explore keeps you from stuffing yourself. You won’t go hungry here like you have back home. At least, you’re pretty sure you won’t.  You’ve scraped the last of the food on your plate into your mouth before getting up to drop it off in the sink, heading up the stairs and back to your room right after. There’s lots to do today, but you need a few things first. The suitcase full of your stuff still sits packed on your bed, but that’s a problem for later you. There isn’t much for you to unpack so you’ll deal with it later since all you need from it is your journal. It’s more of a sketchbook than a journal, but you won’t admit that. You won’t even admit that you own the damn thing, though you don’t think mom would be mad at you for having it.  You dig through the clothes until your hand slides across the familiar leather of the journal. You pull it out and check to be sure your pencil is still there before leaving your room. You pass Rose on the stairs, flick her on the arm, and expertly dodge the hand that comes just millimetres from slapping your arm. You’ve done this enough times to have learned to dodge quickly, so you cast a smug smile over your shoulder and jump down the last few steps.

“I’m gonna go walk around! I’ll be back soon!” You hear the distinct voice of mom telling you to be home by noon and to not go far, but you pretend not to hear her as the back door closes behind you. 

You walk on the stones that lead you through the garden, keeping your eyes peeled on the flourishing flowers around you. They’re all so vibrant, more so than the ones you’d seen in the village, but you chalk it up to the fact that they’re like that because mom is so vibrant. There’s no doubt she takes real good care of them.

You cast your eyes down to the path, stopping short at the sight of little wet marks on a stone only a few feet from you. They’re quickly drying from the sun, so you hurry over and crouch down beside them. You’re greeted by small footprints, but they aren’t the type you were expecting. They start at one end of the stone, mostly dry there, and lead all the way across to the other side and into the flowers.  The prints are an exact replica of a human, but they’re too small to be human. A baby’s foot is far bigger than these. They could have come from an animal, but it’s hard to imagine what kind of animal they could come from. Squirrels with feet like yours, but smaller, sound rather strange. Yet, it could be possible considering you’ve never seen a squirrel before.

They’re fresh, so whatever had left them was still around.

You set your journal down on the now dry stone, prints effectively dried up, and peek around the lavender plant that is growing on the side the prints had led to. You don’t see anything but a lady bug and the plant leaves your hands wet. Right, mom had just watered out here. The water is quickly dried off when you wipe your hands on your pants just before you bend down to grab the journal from the path. You stand and glance around, looking for any more prints that might have been left, but you see nothing.  Thoroughly convinced it was an animal, which has probably scurried off now, you continue down the path until it turns to grass. It’s only a short walk from the garden to the dense forest, so it doesn’t take long before the trees block the sunlight from beating down on you. 

There isn’t a path, but you didn’t expect there to be one. You’d make your own path and hopefully not get lost in the process. Maybe the fairies would come out and lead you home if you did get lost, but even so you wouldn’t want to worry anyone. Mom might make Rose go with you and that’s the last thing you need.

As much as you love her, she isn’t as keen on walking around outside with bugs buzzing around. Plus, she’s been a bit of a downer since you’ve gotten here. You hadn’t been thrilled to leave the only home you’ve known, or all your friends, but you’ve tried to see the better side of things. It’s a big house, there are fairies here, Mr. Egbert was super nice, and you get to stay with mom now! She’s full of bright smiles, warm hugs, and new changes.

It’s nice.

You’re broken from your thoughts when something hits the top of your head. You pause, looking up at the canopy of trees just above you. There isn’t anything there but leaves, branches, and nuts, but the soft breeze that’s been tussling your hair sounds like laughter. It’s quiet and reminds you of the faint laughter you’d heard as you drifted to sleep the night before.  It sends chills down your back, so you drop your head to examine the ground beneath your feet. There is dirt, grass, leaves, and lots of nuts so you aren’t exactly sure what has fallen onto your head. A nut probably, but you don’t know which one it was. It doesn’t matter.  You stand there for only a moment longer before shrugging the incident away and continuing your way through the trees. Creamy white draws you over to the base of a tree, small mushrooms clustering in a group there. They look kind of gross, and probably don’t taste too good either, but they’re perfect anyway.

You crouch down and fall back onto your rear, flipping open the journal to a fresh page. The last one you worked on wasn’t full yet, but you want a full page for each cool thing you find out here. The pencil glides smoothly over the paper as you try to copy the lines of the mushrooms. You don’t have experience with plants, but you don’t think it looks too awful for the first time. It’s not like anyone was going to be seeing these anyway, so it doesn’t matter if they’re perfect or not.  The page quickly fills up with the drawings of the mushrooms, some with a misshapen cap and others bent over like they were falling trees. They weren’t pretty like flowers, but the creamy mushrooms deserved a page anyway. They’re the first thing you've drawn since coming here and that should be reason enough.

You let the cover fall over the pages to close the journal before climbing back to your feet and starting off to the left this time. Mom did say not to go too far, so you'll try not to.  There’s rustling from bushes as you pass by and it startles you each time, but the sound of the breeze through the trees reminds you it isn’t anything. Surely it’s the wind, and if it wasn’t you would have seen something. Well, you're pretty sure you would have seen something.  You stop again when you spot small groups of bright yellow flowers growing and they take up a portion of the next page, the rest of it filled by your drawings of small flowers that you take care in stepping around once you've finished. You pluck one from each flower, the smaller ones, and close them between the pages. You'll tape them in later tonight so you can compare the real flower to the ones you’d drawn.

You're content doing this until you feel the same hit on your head as you did earlier. Again, your gaze travels up the trees like you had done before and sees the same thing. Leaves, branches, and nuts. Again, there’s the breezy laugh but it’s different from the one before. You can’t prove this, nor can you prove it to be a laugh, but you know it is one. A fairy perhaps. Was there some following you? What did they plan on doing?  You didn’t know, but you don’t have time to dwell on it anyway. Mom’s voice, distinct but faint, calls from the direction to your left and you start off in that direction. You aren’t sure what she was saying, but you heard your name and that’s all you needed to hear to know she was looking for you.

It takes a few minutes and some stumbling before you see the house through the trees as well as your mother waiting by the back door. There’s a man standing beside her, and for a brief second you’re worried it may be dad. What if he was back to take you and Rose home? There’s no way you could possibly leave now that you’d seen all that this place has to offer. Well, some of what it has to offer. There’s probably a lot more that you don’t even know about yet.

Relief floods you when you notice the man has black hair and shortly you recognize him as the baker. Mr. Egbert. 

You hurry through the grass and onto the little stone path that weaves through the garden up to the door, greeting your mother with a hug.

“I was beginning to worry you’d been swept off, dear.” Your mom’s arms wrap gently around you, giving a pleasant squeeze before ushering you into the house. “What’s that you have?”

You look down at your journal and hesitate, squeezing the small book in your hands before glancing back up at your mother.

“My journal. I like to draw in it.” You hand it out to her this time and she eagerly takes it, the older man peering over her shoulder to look as well. A good half of the book is filled with drawings of people that you’d seen around your small apartment building. They’d sit in the lobby sometimes and you’d sit against the wall to draw them. Dad was in a few of them, but those had been rushed. You had drawn Rose in there as well and she was never looking directly forward. You remember those rainy days you both would sit in your shared room and talk. She was one of the few that you allowed to look through the journal, and now your mother and Mr. Egbert could be added in as well.

“These are very well done. You must draw quite a bit.” The proudness in the elder man’s voice brings a smile onto your face and you aren’t entirely sure why. His opinion shouldn’t matter much to you, but it does. Just as much as your mom’s opinion means to you.

“My baby is so talented! Just look at this! These flowers look so real.” There is no mistaking how happy she sounds and it makes you feel even better.

You’re sure your face is red by the time you take back the journal and run up stairs to put it on your dresser. It takes a minute before you realize the suitcase is tucked under your bed and the few things in the room. The wardrobe is cracked, and upon opening it you see your clothes hung up. The few toys that had been packed as well sit on the seat by the window, leaning against each other and giving the room more life. It isn’t much, but you think it’s a big difference.

Smiling, you turn to leave the room, heading back downstairs to join your mom and guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated, and if you find any mistakes please let me know so I can fix them!


	3. Journal Entry #1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As long as they get there I don’t care how long it takes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the errors in this were intentional so don't worry about that! Every two-three chapters I plan to have a journal entry from Rose.

_ “The first day in Sussex wasn’t nearly as bad as I had thought it was going to be. It was a big  _ _~~releaf~~ _ _ relief when we finally got to the house after the awful trip. From the minute we were told we were leaving it’s been awful, but it doesn’t seem like it’ll be too bad here. At least, I hope it isn’t going to be. It’s nice to see mom again after so long too. I had gotten so used to dad’s anger, that the sudden change of being around mom has been… strange. In a good way though. The house is nice too. It’s definitely bigger than the apartment, so I get to have my own room now and I even have a nice desk to write on. The seat is a little  _ _~~uncumfertable~~ _ _ uncomfortable, but it’s next to the window so it’s easy to see when I write. I also get a great view. While I like the house, I’m not too fond of where it’s at. Obviously it isn’t close to any of my friends, so I have to write letters and hope it makes it to them safely. The little mail office is in the town, which is almost a mile away, but it’ll be worth it to send my letters and hopefully get some in return. I hope my friends haven’t forgotten me. It was a long trip and it’ll take just as long for my letters to get there. As long as they get there I don’t care how long it takes. _

_ Dave has been a total  _ ~~_ newsince _ ~~ _ nuisance this entire time. He complained a lot on the trip, but he’s stopped since we’ve arrived. I think the house was enough to shut him up. Even though he’s stopped complaining, he has something new to go on and on about. Mom filled his head with the idea of fairies and I think he actually believes her! It must be some tradition the town has since they had all those statues and fountains of the fairies. Maybe they just like that kind of stuff and wanted to give Dave something to be interested in. Either way, I can tell he’s going to be annoying about it and all I can do is hope that he bothers mom with it all rather than me. Anyway, it’s getting hard to see now that the sun has gone down. My first day has been complete as well as the stupidly long journey here. I’m looking forward to sleeping in a soft bed in my own room.” _

_ Sincerely yours, _

_ Rose _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos always appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> If you guys catch any mistakes please let me know! I'll fix them right away! Comments and kudos are always appreciated too!


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